Australia is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth — and one of the worst for extinctions.
More than 2,000 species are now listed as threatened, and habitat loss continues almost unchecked. The national law meant to protect nature — the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act — needs to be strengthened.
Successive governments have allowed critical habitat to be bulldozed, exemptions to remain for deforestation and shark culling, and the welfare of wild animals to be ignored. Standards need to be built into the EPBC Act to prevent governments from making bad decisions which jeopardise nature.
The Albanese Government has committed to reforming the EPBC Act — but the longer we wait, the more damage is done. We need a strong new law that actually protects wildlife and ecosystems, not just manages their decline.
